Elucidating the role of interacting residues of the MSH2-MSH6 complex in DNA repair mechanism: A computational approach.

The DNA repair system is crucial to repair the error resulting in DNA replication. MSH2-MSH6 protein complex plays a significant role in maintaining the mismatch repair mechanism. Mutations in the interface between the two proteins compromise their function in the repair process. The present study aims to understand the impact of missense mutations in the interacting sites of the MSH2-MSH6 protein complex. MSH6 is unstable due to the disordered N-terminal domain. This is stabilized by the MSH2 hetero-dimerization. We used pathogenicity and stability predictors to identify the missense mutations that could be more pathogenic with the destabilizing property. The mutations W764C of MSH2, and L1201F and G1316E of MSH6 were predicted to be highly deleterious and destabilizing by all the in silico predictors. The dynamic motion of the native and mutant (W764C) MSH2-MSH6 protein complexes was further investigated using Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the GROMACS package. The Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD), Radius of Gyration (Rg), and change in a number of intramolecular hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) were analyzed using the embedded packages of GROMACS. From the simulation studies, we observed higher deviation, lower protein compactness, and a decrease in the number of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in the mutant W764C MSH2-MSH6 protein complex. The observed results from the computational methods suggest the involvement of higher structural impact on the MSH2-MSH6 protein complex upon W764C mutation could affect the DNA repair mechanism.

A computational method to characterize the missense mutations in the catalytic domain of GAA protein causing Pompe disease.

Pompe disease is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by acid α-glucosidase (GAA) deficiency, resulting in intralysosomal accumulation of glycogen, including cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle cells. The GAA gene is located on chromosome 17 (17q25.3), the GAA protein consists of 952 amino acids; of which 378 amino acids (347-726) falls within the catalytic domain of the protein and comprises of active sites (518 and 521) and binding sites (404, 600, 616, and 674). In this study, we used several computational tools to classify the missense mutations in the catalytic domain of GAA for their pathogenicity and stability. Eight missense mutations (R437C, G478R, N573H, Y575S, G605D, V642D, L705P, and L712P) were predicted to be pathogenic and destabilizing to the protein structure. These mutations were further subjected to phenotyping analysis using SNPeffect 4.0 to predict the chaperone binding sites and structural stability of the protein. The mutations R437C and G478R were found to compromise the chaperone-binding activity with GAA. Molecular docking analysis revealed that the G478R mutation to be more significant and hinders binding to the DNJ (Miglustat) compared with the R437C. Further molecular dynamic analysis for the two mutations demonstrated that the G478R mutation was acquired higher deviation, fluctuation, and lower compactness with decreased intramolecular hydrogen bonds compared to the mutant R437C. These data are expected to serve as a platform for drug design against Pompe disease and will serve as an ultimate tool for variant classification and interpretations.

Blood substitutes and oxygen therapeutics: an overview and current status.

This review article discusses the development and implementation of a number of blood substitutes, including hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) and perfluorocarbons. This review article will introduce the reader to blood substitutes by discussing an overview of an ideal blood substitute, the history of HBOCs and perfluorocarbons, strategies of oxygen carrying, side effects of HBOCs and perfluorocarbons, current clinical trials, and the future of blood substitutes.